


Company Ink

by inuchan4ever



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Comedy, F/F, office politics, salty Lapis, the best of archer and the office, why is amethyst the only one without a pairing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-09-06 21:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8769607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inuchan4ever/pseuds/inuchan4ever
Summary: (ON HIATUS - until the greatest thing is finished - end 2019)Ever since Peridot had her...ahem...removed from the graphics team, Lapis has held a serious grudge. Peridot, however, has spent the past few weeks trying to contact her. In her downtime Lapis alternates between scraping, burning, and playing voodoo with the letters she's been sending (who sends letters nowadays anyway?) Finally, on some unsuspecting Monday, she hears a knock on her office door and she's got a hunch there's going to be a familiar pointy-headed idiot behind it.





	1. Turkey Rot

Lapis leaned over her white board. She'd had an idea in mind when she started but as usual, things had devolved into a collage of unreadable squiggles and lines. She wasn't even sure herself, of what her little doodles were supposed to be anymore. It didn't matter, she'd submit it tomorrow regardless. The team leader would drool and moan all over it like she was Michelangelo and her scribbles were a rendition of  _The Last Supper._  She took another look at...whatever this was and stood up. She stretched and yawned, tugging her arms behind her head and arching her back. At her desk, her real desk with the computer on it, sat a stack of papers. They varied from full-length handwritten letters to roughly scribbled post-its, every one of them from the same person. She used her arm to slide them off the desk into the trash. Having cleared her space she sat down at her computer to check her email. It was full of the same nonsense: newsletters sent en-mass from the company, mistaken reply-alls from her feckless coworkers involving the seedy details of their personal lives, gushing responses of gratitude from her boss after every scrap and bone she sent him. This department was a wasteland of talent and creativity before Lapis arrived. Her teammates were overjoyed to have her and her boss assumed she was either a transfer sent from corporate for doing so well...or a last ditch effort to boost the department's image.

The reality being that she was neither. Following what would only be known as 'the incident' in her head, she was branded with the 'no-longer-a-team-player' label and shucked off for someone else to deal with. It was a blessing and curse that she wasn't fired. It just so happened that 'the incident' also involved a certain blonde, unprofessional, girl wonder, who she _swore_ must have been sleeping with somebody in the company. She clenched her fists. Lapis could just see her smug face after the decision was ruled against her. The one good thing to come out of this was that she never had to see that puny, arrogant, immature, self-aggrandizing, little-

A knock on her door jolted her out of her thoughts. It was probably just Smokey wondering if she wanted to order out. The knock sounded again though and by now Smokey would have stuck his nosy neck through the door. He was a sweet, obnoxious, kid with some real talent. She hoped he escaped one day as this department was nothing but leeches for great ideas and creative minds.

Lapis got up to open the door. She didn't initially register the empty space in front of her until she looked down. Of course, it had to be on a Monday that she was visited by her archrival, baby Einstein.

"You cannot be serious."

Peridot cleared her throat. "You haven't responded to any of my attempts at contacting you."

Lapis stepped back inside. "Sorry, my quill broke and I didn't have any carrier pigeons." Peridot noticed her trashcan filled with their recent (lack of) correspondence. "Really Peridot? I figured you probably helped _invent_ Gmail or something."

Peridot groaned. "I know how to use email but you haven't responded!"

"Oh." Lapis leaned against the desk. "Must have added you to my spam box already."

Peridot pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look. I know we got off to kind of a bad start but-"

"A bad start?! You knew what position I wanted and as soon as you found out you had me ousted!"

"What position?" she shook her head. "Whatever, it's irrelevant. The point is...the team is getting a bit harder to...coalesce into a...cohesive group...without your...what should I call it...unifying presence." In other words, Peridot was difficult and the others were wondering if they could switch out.

"Too bad. You'll have to figure this one out on your own."

" _What_?" Peridot was floored. She didn't think Lapis would come crawling back but she also hadn't expected outright rejection "No." she snickered. "I don't buy it. You're telling me you would leave your team stranded?" She spread her arms. "To sink with the ship?" 

' _As long as you sink with it_.' Lapis thought. "I can't work with you Peridot. It's just that simple."

Peridot's entire body tightened. "Fine! I never actually needed you, I just thought you'd be interested in an opportunity to have your old job back. But clearly you're happier here." Peridot stormed out and slammed the door behind her. Lapis seethed and stomped back behind her desk. A soon as she sat down the door re-opened.

"Have fun with the other lame-o's!" Peridot shouted.

"I will!"

"Good!"

"Yeah, it is good!" Peridot slammed the door again. Lapis had never wanted to knock someone's teeth out more. She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, brow furrowed in frustration and unreleased rage. She glanced at the papers in the trash can and briefly thought about throwing a lit match into it. That would definitely get her fired though. She could toss them out the window but she wasn't sure they opened from the inside. She went back to her drawing board and scraped what she was working on earlier. She started over with big angry strokes, taking everything from earlier out on the paper. She looked at it once it was done. It was a total mess, unrecognizable even to her. She would probably regret this singular thought forever but...Peridot was right. She did want to come back. She just didn't want to swallow her pride. And it had felt really good seeing Peridot's face when she turned her down. But she also wasn't sure she could swallow another week, or month, or a year in this cubicled pergatory. She walked over to her computer. Her email was still up but she ignored in favor of Facebook and BuzzFeed, checking up on people and celebrities she didn't care about, trying to squash the gnawing unease over what she was about to do. Finally, she ran her hands over her eyes, closed all the other tabs but her inbox and clicked 'new mail'.

> " _Hey Bismuth, it's Lapis. You'll never guess who showed up at my office today. Peridot, mentioned something along the lines of maybe being able to come back? Have you heard anything about this? Do you think you could talk to some of the higher ups and see what the word is? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks again, Lapis._ "

She wavered over the 'send' button. Bismuth would let her know if Peridot's offer was real and what the general attitude of the others was. If it was good she'd have to suck it up enough to sit within a hundred mile radius of Peridot for seven and a half hours a day. She looked down at the only two productive things she'd gotten done all day and thought back to every ounce of crap she'd spewed out for this department. If it was a lifetime of groveling versus a life time of garbage well...she supposed the groveling at least would taste better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has literally, no direction. I wrote it on a whim to see if I could write something without succumbing to my compulsive planning habits. It's much shorter and less intense than my current work, Fear No Love, which I think is a much better read but this makes for a good break.


	2. Not Yet Above Board

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis goes home

Lapis rode the elevator to the fourth floor. It opened to a modern interior with glass walls and lush carpeting. Fancy, exotic looking potted plants lined every corner and a fountain with animals plastered in concrete in absurd positions sat in the middle of the open area. It was a far cry from the cardboard cubicle she'd come from, with its horribly squicky laminate flooring and where her closest view was of the restroom. She told her manager she couldn't work under such conditions and he immediately offered her the use of his office - which soon became her office. She felt mildly guilty for leaving. The whole thing had been a dramatic affair, complete with waterworks from her boss, who probably would have offered her half his salary to stay and an inappropriately tight hug from Smokey. Still, it felt good to be home. 

She stepped off the elevator and rounded the corner to the hallway. Across from her was a meeting room. She couldn't see through the clouded glass but she heard voices on the inside. She sat her portfolio and her box of left-over supplies down on the floor and pulled the doors open. 

"Now this part here is new. It's supposed to be a reconstruction of-"

"Lapis?"

Everyone turned around and stared. Pearl, Amethyst, and of course Peridot were sitting at the conference table. Peridot was at the head, looking as overbearing and imperious as always. Amethyst had her back to her and Pearl was hovering over a large blueprint on the table next to an unfamiliar woman.

"Holy crap, you came back!" shouted Amethyst.

"Yes, well, I convinced her that, as an invaluable member of the...former team, her assistance would be greatly appreciated from time to time." Peridot answered.

Ten minutes in and Lapis was already wondering if she would regret this decision. She made a note to find some way to _thank_ Peridot properly for the warm welcome. 

"Lapis, it's good to see you."

"Thanks, Pearl." She stared at the newcomer. "Oh!" Pearl exclaimed, This is Garnet. She's here to help with some of the newer projects."

"Nice to meet you." the woman said.

"Likewise."

"Don't worry, she's not replacing you." added Amethyst. Not a comforting thought.

"I wasn't worried." ' _At least not at first_.'

Peridot cleared her throat. "If we could conclude the pleasantries. Lapis, I'm sure you need time to get reacquainted with everything since you've left. You're excused for now to get settled in."

Peridot waved her away and Lapis had to straighten her face to keep the annoyance from seeping through. Last thing she needed was open hostilities with Peridot in front of her co-workers. The gossip would never end and there was already enough of it floating around with her dredging up more. She left the conference room and picked up her things on the way out. She wasn't actually sure if she still had her old office or if they had repurposed it into a storage closet or some kind of memorial for all her dashed hopes and dreams. Surprisingly though enough it was still there, unused. Her name had been scraped from the door but that could be fixed later. Lapis tried the handle but found it was locked. She groaned and dropped her stuff on the ground in front of her door. Bismuth would probably have a key. She turned back around through the hallway where she knew her office would be. 

Bismuth's door was cracked and Lapis could hear her on the phone inside. She tapped lightly on the door before pushing it open. Bismuth had her feet on the desk and was yelling jovially to the other person on the line. She was dressed casually as usual. Their company was generally formal to business casual at all times but with this being the creative department, the rules were a bit less rigid here. 

Lapis sat down quietly in one of the chairs in front of the desk and waited for her to finish her conversation. She laughed and said her goodbyes, dropping the phone down indelicately on the receiver. 

"Lapis! Good to have you back kiddo. You miss us that much?"

"Yeah, it was definitely pretty lonely downstairs."

"I'll bet!" Bismuth chortled and rolled back in her chair. Lapis wasn't sure it was that funny but she wasn't about say so here and now. "Alright enough messin' around. What's on the agenda huh? Oh right..." Bismuth ruffled through her drawers and pulled out a shiny metal gold plated key. She handed it over to Lapis.

"I believe this belongs to a certain blue streaked, smart-mouthed, creative genius...any ideas on who that might be?" Bismuth bounced her eyebrows. Lapis stood up and snatched the key out of her hand laughing. 

"Thanks Bismuth. I really owe you one." she turned the key over in her hand. 

"Don't thank me. Peridot's the one who asked for you back. I just pulled the right strings."

Lapis blinked, "Huh...well thanks anyway."

"No prob bob. Oh and stop by HR, you need to have your badge reinstated." 

"Okay, will do." she waved bye and left. Back at her office, she tried the key. It worked perfectly and she pushed the door open with her hips. Everything had been cleared out and it looked dry and bare. She still had some halfway decent pieces leftover to hang on the walls though. In the corner on the left hand side was a simple light brown desk with two drawers. In the middle of the room though, against the large bright window overlooking the city was a tall blank wooden board that curved flat at the bottom. She reached up to stroke the clean wood and the side panels side lit up. Lapis's heart stopped. It couldn't be...she'd been begging for one of these things for years. The Cintiq drawing board was large curved touchscreen monitor that featured a horizontal "desktop" display area which curved upward to a more traditional vertical monitor surface. It was the latest in graphic design technology and she'd been advocating for the board to buy these for her team basically since their release.

"I see you like the upgrade." 

Lapis turned around. Peridot was at her doorway looking smug as ever. Then again she'd just found out Peridot was the reason she was here in the first place, and now apparently she'd somehow finagled whoever did the budget into buying the outrageously expensive tools for the entire office.

"Yeah...I do actually...Thanks."

Peridot nodded. "Of course. It's in all our best interests that we have only the finest tools to work with. I'm sure you'd agree." 

Lapis raised her eyebrow. A simple ' _You're welcome_ ' would have worked too but...baby steps. "So...I have to run to HR but I shouldn't be too long."

Peridot headed back out, her chin up and her hands folded behind her back. It would have been imposing were she more than five feet tall. "Take your time."

Lapis took the basement elevator down to human resources. There were already a few people waiting but she was expected and her name was called just a few minutes after sitting down. She knocked on the door and was called in. The office was richly decorated in deep reds, shiny golds, earthy mahoganies, and ebony blacks with just a touch of white for flare. It looked more like a furniture show-room than an office. There was a low hanging chandelier, an antique bookcase, a soft loveseat in front of the desk, and two beautiful (but rather uncomfortable looking) wooden chairs in front of the stylish glass table. The back of the chair was facing her when she walked in. 

"Is that a guest I hear?" a lilting voice called from behind the desk. 

Lapis coughed, "Yep...that'd be me."

The chair spun around to reveal a tall slender woman with curly gray hair done up in around her face and a trendy red and brown pant suit. "Oh my stars and garters if it isn't Lapis Lazuli! How are you dear?"

"Just fine Sardonyx. Thanks for asking. Um...I'm kind of just hear to get a new badge."

"Of course. I've been expecting you. Couldn't handle it in the doldrums I hear. A bit of a...blank page in your life would you say?" She laughed uproariously at her own joke, while Lapis smiled nervously from the chair. "Now let's see what we can do about getting you some access shall we?" She cracked her knuckles and typed furiously on the computer. Lapis waited, uncomfortable in the stiff high-backed wooden chair. After a minute or so the computer dinged and the printer whirred, spitting out a piece of paper. Sardonyx yanked it out. She pulled her glasses from around her neck, placed them on her nose, and held the paper in front of her face.

"Ah, here it is. Your new position." she sat the paper in front of Lapis and walked around the desk.

"Thanks...wait...new?"

Sardonyx yanked her up out of the chair and stood her against the wall. "Yes darling, since you've returned your job title has changed somewhat. Oh don't give me that look. It's not entirely different just a slight change. Here I have the papers all ready for you." She opened a drawer and pulled out a thick manila folder, dropping it into Lapis' arms. She grunted, straining under the weight, and tried to balance the papers on her knee without letting them all spill out.

"Stand up straight dear, you're slouching." 

"Urgh, wait...what does all this mean? Am I moving a new team?"

Sardonyx set up a camera stand, "No, nothing like that. You'll still be working with all the same people you'll just be doing it from a...what did they call it...Oh yes, an associate position."

Lapis stilled. She must have misheard, "A what?" 

"An associate position darling, don't you listen?"

Lapis eye twitched, she clenched the papers so hard they crinkled in the folder. Sardonyx stepped away from the camera, "Goodness what is it now?"

"But that's- You're telling me I'm being  _demoted_?!"  

"Your overreacting. The pay cut isn't nearly as bad as what you might think would be."

Somewhere in the back of her head some synapses breathed their last breath as her brain overheated and fried what was left of all rational thought. The camera flashed in front of her as Sardonyx snapped the photo.


	3. Cooperative Competition

" _Aah-hahaha!_ " Amethyst snorted, "Why do you look like you're trying to hold in a fart?" She pointed at Lapis' badge. Lapis kept her mouth shut tight. She wasn't sure what would come out if she opened it. "Oh man, this is great. I got to get everybody else to come see it. Hey, let's take a selfie." Amethyst pulled out her phone and wrapped an arm around Lapis so their badges were side-by-side. Their faces were small on the phone but you could still make out the image of Amethyst smirking in her picture and Lapis...well Amethyst said her expression looked like a combination of angry and surprised, which honestly wasn't that far off the mark from what Lapis had actually been feeling.

She left Amethyst in the hallway snickering at the picture and stomped towards the main office where she knew Bismuth would be. She didn't bother knocking this time and barged in with no preamble.

" _What_ the hell!"

Bismuth dropped her magazine. "Uh, hello to you too?"

"You docked my salary?!" Lapis yelled.

Bismuth walked around the other side of the desk and sat on the edge. "Look, kid, you got to understand. Those decisions are above my head. If I could pay everyone around here twice what they I would."

"But you approved it! You knew I would get less when I came back! You could have at least told me."

Bismuth sighed, "I know...but we really did need you. And the big shots insisted that we reorganize the budget to maintain Peridot's former rate."

"...Wait..." Lapis shook her head, "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I heard you correctly. You basically said that in order for Peridot to stay I had to get paid less."

Bismuth raised her arm, "Eh...in not so many words."

Lapis stood, astonished. "Did she know about this?"

"I mean...probably. Peridot works directly with the big wigs so what she wants...she mostly gets." Lapis waited a beat then nodded silently. "Hey, look, kid, probably best for your own sake not to make a scene about this you know?" Lapis barked out a short laugh before turning around and walking out the door. Bismuth yelled out the door to her as she left. "Glad we had this talk!"

Oh, ho ho. Fuck getting fired. Fuck professionalism. Fuck manners, civility, and general human to human decency. Lapis was going to make _sure_ Peridot heard _every last word_ she had to say. ' _Don't make a scene_ ' she says, this ungrateful sham of a company was probably drowning in red ink. But did they give a single good-God-damn about their loyal employees? Nope. Of course not. Why do that when you have tiny loud mouth wannabe intellectuals sucking their golden God-damn dicks. Peridot _really_ thought she was something didn't she? Comin'in here, changing the status quo, acting like some hot shot. Lapis clenched her fists as she thought about everything she wanted to say. She was about ten feet from Peridot's office. It was a tall imposing door, unlike the other workspaces, which were generally shared to promote the spread of ideas, Peridot practically had her own wing. The irony of her luxurious, wallless, meditative space, while Lapis had to beg just to have something other than thin cardboard between her and a toilet, was not lost on her. She grabbed the handle and opened the door a crack. She almost had a foot in when she heard low angry voices.

"This is not what we asked for Peridot." the first voice said.

"I-I know...I just...it's been a difficult adjustment."

"You've had weeks to get your shit together around here and we haven't heard shit from you."

Lapis heard Peridot swallow from the door, "I'm sorry, I'm getting right on it."

"I don't why we picked someone like you for this. You had to be the least qualified out of all of us. I guess they figured it was just too beneath my status to have me do it."

"Of course Jasper."

"And another thing. Stop calling, Diamond's assistant is tired of forwarding your calls all the time. If you can't handle shit down here that's your problem. We're not here to hold your hand the whole time."

"S-sorry." Lapis wondered who this asshole was. Clearly someone that could humble even the proud Peridot. After this lecture it almost wouldn't be any fun yelling at her. Almost.

"I want a detailed report on everything going on down here in three days."

"Th-three _days_! I need more time than that just gather all the statistical data on-"

"Oh my God," she pinched the bridge of her nose "just stop. If you're just going to bitch and moan about it then I'll just go ahead and email a list of your excuses instead and we'll find someone more competent." Peridot whimpered a little. Lapis suddenly lost her stomach for an argument. "Get. Your shit. Together, Peridot." Jasper emphasized each word with a poke to her chest. She chuckled at Peridot's defeated form before heading towards the door. Lapis ran down the other end of the hall and pulled out her phone. Jasper walked right by her. Lapis watched her round the corner and put her phone away. She headed back towards the office and peered around the door. Peridot was in the middle of the room, she looked terrified. Lapis sighed internally. The universe was obviously conspiring against her. She expected some major karma points for this.

She swung the door open and it hit the other side of the wall with a bang. " _Nyah_!" Peridot nearly jumped out of her not quite but just barely office appropriate shoes. You know the kind, they don't have any laces but they're made of cotton. Peridot probably figured if her pants were long enough no-one would notice...Anyway, "Oh, Lapis." she cleared her throat and smoothed out her clothes "Is there something I can help you with?"

Lapis kicked the door shut with her foot, "Uh yeah, I just saw some giant lady stick her foot so far up your ass she probably lost a toenail." Lapis sat herself in one of Peridot's plush leather couches, she crossed her arms. "Your usual air of superiority is falling a little flat."

Peridot's mouth quivered, "What am I gonna do!?" she wailed covering her face with her hands. Lapis rolled her eyes. "Jasper's had it out for me since the beginning. Ever since I got here she's been trying set me up." Peridot started to pace, "The structural liaison position was created specifically for _me_! And Jasper would be terrible at it anyway. She's far to heavy handed."

"Sucks to be on the receiving end of someone else's back door machinations isn't it?" Lapis said from the chair.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Was she serious? "Um, excuse me but in case you forgot you had _me_ removed so you could take over my position. And now the same thing is happening to you! How can you not see the irony?"

"What?!"

"Yeah. Maybe you forgot that part."

Peridot groaned and pulled at her hair, "If you had just looked at my letters! I never wanted your stupid position. I hate art. But they had to move somebody to make way for me. You just happened to be...expendable."

Lapis white-knuckled the armrests of the chair, "Expendable! Oh right" she said breathless "and I guess all of those times you purposefully embarrassed me in front of management, sabotaged my work, and made me out to be like...the ultimate slacker!"

"None of those things were intentional. And I've already discovered who the ultimate slacker is here." Lapis looked ready to pounce, "Look, I never meant to do any of those things. It's hard being in a new place and trying to establish yourself. Maybe I was a bit...overzealous in my attempts to make myself look good."

"At my expense."

"...Ahem...Yes, but it wasn't personall it was just..."

"You being inconsiderate and self-serving?"

Peridot held up a finger, "Exactly!"

Lapis looked unimpressed, " _But_...I realized...in your absence what an...invaluable member you were." She looked up at Lapis' glare " _Are._ The point is...I'm...you know...uh..." Peridot seemed genuinely confused.

"Sorry?"

"Yes! Right. I'm sorry...Whew." she wiped her brow of imaginary sweat. Lapis rolled her eyes again.

"I just came here to tell you...or demand that you fix my pay rate."

Peridot raised an eyebrow, "I don't know what you think I can do. I don't have control over that."

Lapis walked around the chair to her, "But Bismuth said that budgeting had to...rearrange things so that," she tried to think of what Bismuth had told her "your talents could be appropriately compensated in accordance with the level to that of your peers."

"Hm...a vague way of saying they gave you less so I could have more." Peridot rubbed her chin.

"Yeah, I got that part. So fix it. Talk to the Diamonds or something. Jasper, or whoever that was, made it seem like you knew them."

Peridot scoffed, "As if. I mean I know _of_ them, but they don't ever talk to me in person." She sighed and flopped over the side of one of the chairs, "I won't matter. Jasper's set me up to fail for sure this time. Once the Diamonds find out how incompetent I am, she'll convince them to have me fired." she moaned

Lapis couldn't be more exasperated with Peridot's drama, nor could she care less about her plight, but something nagged at her. "Why would Jasper want your position anyway? Isn't she already way above you? Plus I don't think you can hold two positions in two separate departments if you work for corporate. Wouldn't that be against the company charter?"

" _Hah_! Don't you know anything?" Peridot rolled over. "Jasper is their right-hand woman. She can do whatever she wants. Including infringe on company policy if it gets the Diamonds what they want."

"So...what would they want?"

Peridot shrugged, "I mean...I do have clearance to very classified documents, archived records, deleted files..." Peridot blinked, "Oh."

"Jeez. No wonder. Still, couldn't the Diamonds just get all that themselves? What do they need either of you for? And why would they care? They run the place."

"I don't know..." Peridot said wistfully, "All I do is organize and categorize them." Peridot and Lapis sat in pensive silence together for a moment. Finally, Lapis came to a decision, albeit one she was likely to regret.

"Maybe...if I..." she sighed again, "help you with this project or cleanup or whatever is Jasper wants you to do, then you'll be back in their favor and you can convince them to give me all my back."

Peridot shot up, "Really? Do you mean that?" her hands were clasped and her eyes watered.

Lapis groaned, "Yes but-" she had to block Peridot's oncoming hug "you have to promise to help me after. And I want to know who Jasper is and what she's really after."

Peridot jumped off her chair and Lapis relaxed her arm, "Deal! Now, if you have nothing better to do I have a key to the old records room. We can start there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every ounce of company jargon, legalese, and business rules in this are fake and totally made up by me. In this case, imagination beat realism.


	4. Busy Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot reveals a secret and the two of them buckle down and get to it.

"Ta-da!" Peridot had taken her to an underground torture chamber. It was a huge open room, with unfinished concrete floors, darkly painted walls, and lit by a high ceiling with dim overhead fluorescent lighting. There were no barriers but visibility in the space was blocked by endless rows of open steel shelves on which cardboard boxes, papers, manila folders, and various organizers sat. The room was huge and Lapis couldn't see the exit, blocked by lines of cold metal.

"What is this place?"

"It's the storage department." Peridot responded.

"Departement? As in like...other people actually work here. Or empty space that other people just dump stuff in."

Peridot grumbled, "It doesn't matter what you call it. The point is this is where what we're looking for will be."

"I thought I was helping you organize some...statistics or whatever."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll get to that." Peridot ran ahead and to a shelf on the far right. She jumped, swiping her arms at the top but it was out of her reach. After a few tries, she ran around the opposite side and dragged a stool back to where she had been standing. She climbed on it and dusted the top shelf with her hand but even from there the object was just out of her reach. Lapis shook her head at the ridiculousness of the situation. How did someone like Peridot ever get put in charge of anything? Maybe she was some kind of autistic savant. It would explain the lack of social skills.

Lapis walked over to the shelf and easily pulled down the box Peridot was stretching herself out for. She looked down at the offering in Lapis' arms and took it with barely more than a nod in thanks. She sat the cardboard box down on the ground and bent over by the knees looking through it. It contained rows of files stacked neatly against one another. The box was filled nearly to bursting and Peridot had to squeeze her arm through the dividers, thick with paper and tearing at the seams. She pulled her arm back at and in her hand was a key.

"Aha! This is what's going to get us in the," she turned around to see if anyone was listening, which obviously, no one was. "secret, _secret_ , department."

"Is this another room where nobody works but you call it a department anyway?"

"No!...I work there...sometimes..."

" _Right_. I'm starting to think you just give names to places you'd like to think are important."

Peridot mumbled something under her breath and pretended not to hear. "Whatever. Let's go."

She took Lapis through the maze of and she wondered how long she spent in here that she wasn't panicking about getting lost. Lapis hadn't even known this existed. She knew they had basement floors but she figured it was probably for executive parking or something along those lines.

An old faded golf cart sat unused in one corner, and a small desk with a lamp and some papers messily strewn about next to it. Apparently, someone did come down here. Although Lapis wouldn't be surprised if it still turned out to be Peridot sneaking away to do...whatever. Behind the desk was a solid white door. There was no label or sign indicating it's purpose or what could be inside. Peridot walked behind the desk and stuck the key in the lock. She turned the knob and opened the door wide for Lapis to see. Inside was an even messier space, crowded with boxes, papers, office supplies, and old computer parts, crammed against the walls. There was barely enough room for even someone Peridot's size to squeeze in. Lapis had to suck in her stomach to avoid getting stuck.

"What _is_ all this?"

"These are the restricted files. And this," she waved her arms around the room as well as she could, blocked by the wall of papers behind her "is what Jasper wants me to organize, categorize, and send to her."

"This?" Lapis asked. "But this isn't anything! I mean it's just a bunch of old papers. Look at this." she pulled out an envelope from between to folders. "It's dated in the seventies. Why would Jasper or the Diamonds care about any of this crap?"

" _That_ is exactly what we're here to find out."

Lapis took stock of the situation. She couldn't even move her arms in three dimensions, how were they supposed to go through all of this (probably utterly useless) information in only a couple of days? She looked over at Peridot who was already climbing through an opening in the thick wall stuff. She took a deep breath and focused on suppressing the rising spell of frustration and impatience she felt whenever she spent too much time with Peridot. She was doing this for a reason. She had an end goal. Keep sight of that and all this would be over and then she'd only have to deal with Peridot occasionally. Like when she needed something, or when Peridot wanted to have a meeting, or if anything went wrong, or needed approval, or at the beginning and end of any project...

Oh.

Lapis suppressed a shudder and tried to stay mindful of her present situation and not whatever impending future one she may (definitely) have to deal with. She swore she felt her acid-reflux acting up at just the thought. Peridot shoved out a box from the hole she was in. It fell to the ground with 'thunk'

"Let's get started with this one." Peridot wormed her way out of the hole she had dug to reach the box and landed face first on the ground. Lapis squeezed through and knelt down next to her. This one also had piles of paper in it. Some of them were crinkled and yellowed, piled haphazardly on top of each other with no effort to preserve them. "This has an inventory of everything that was put in here. See?" Peridot turned the box around and pointed to the side that said, 'Incoming'. She scanned some of the top papers that and tossed them aside when they weren't what she was looking for.

Eventually, she held onto one, "Alright." she adjusted her glasses. "Here."

Lapis frowned but took the offered sheet, "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"This is a list of everything we'll find in here in alphabetical, numerical, and Dewey decimal order. We're going to start with sheet A-12.49 and see what information-"

"-if any" Lapis interrupted.

"Ahem...yes if any we can find. We'll then record it and add it to the data sheet I've created." Lapis pulled out a tablet. "If we find something useful or suspect I'll make a copy of it and we can keep it for ourselves to research later." She looked around the room a bit. "It's a bit more...crowded in here than I initially anticipated so based on that...if we don't take a lunch break and keep our fluid intake minimal it should only take us approximately...she looked up at Lapis' dry gaze and hit some buttons on her tablet. Maybe pretending to use a machine to do the math for her was her attempt to look humble. "Seventeen hours...Not bad."

"Not bad! _Ugh_ , Peridot!" Lapis did her best to rub her temples without the space to lift her elbows. "That's over two days and I have other work to do."

"Don't worry, I called someone and got plenty of coverage for you."

* * *

 

Amethyst stared at the blank digital board in front of her. The top and right were bordered by various icons only three of which she recognized. She could go through the two-hour long tutorial video Peridot had sent her... _or_ she could whip up some quick stick figures and call it a day. Lapis probably wouldn't even notice the difference. 


	5. Dead Stick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens as Lapis and Peridot plan their next moves

Lapis's vision blurred, her hands were filthy from the dust and covered in paper cuts. She didn't consider herself a hypochondriac or a germaphobe but she was starting to worry about the possibility of infection. She had enough dust trapped in her hair and lungs to fill an urn. Peridot seemed equally tired, although she was doing a better job of hiding it. She sat with her tablet in her lap swiping through endless pages of numbers she'd cataloged from everything they'd looked through today. 

"Peridot, we need a break."

"Hang on...just...a bit...more data..." her hands shook and the tablet fell from her lap as she collapsed onto the floor.

"I think that's a sign we should probably quit for the day."

Peridot moaned, "Six hours...and nothing.

"No surprise there." 

Peridot sat up, "I really thought we would have made more progress by now." 

"Really?" Lapis raised one eyebrow, "You literally actually thought that? I wish you would have told me, I'd of squashed that hope from the beginning."

"Look on the bright side. We're about a third of the way done organizing all the essential information for Jasper." 

"Great. So Jasper's one step closer to what she wants and I'm two steps closer to getting fired for slacking off in the paper dungeon of doom."

Peridot opened her mouth to retort when the heard a loud 'boom' behind them. "What was that?"

"How should I know. I thought only you came down here?"

"Maybe but I'm not the only one with a key." The two looked at each other before scrambling through the mess to the door. Lapis poked her head out and Peridot peered beneath the crack below her. A high whistle echoed down the hall along with the jangle of keys.

"Who is that?" Peridot whispered.

"It's...Bismuth? What's she doing down here?" The two of them tracked her to the desk in front of the door. Lapis pulled their door tighter, catching part of Peridot's face between the wall and the edge. She sent her an apologetic look. Bismuth pulled open several of the drawers running her hands through the contents. She pulled out some office supplies from the top drawers and even some cleaning equipment from the bottom cabinets. After looking around at her mess she stood up and frowned at the desk.

Peridot typed something on her tablet. ' _What is she looking for_?' Lapis shrugged. When she looked up Bismuth was yanking open on of the drawers on the far left. I wouldn't budge though, and after a couple of tugs she gave up and walked down the hall. Once she was out of sight Lapis shut the door as quietly as she could.

"That was...unexpected."

"Yeah. Bismuth usually just chills in her office. I almost never see her leave. It's weird that she'd be down here."

"Any idea what she was looking for?"

"No but...I bet that drawer has something to do with it." Lapis turned the knob on the door and poked her head out again looking for signs of Bismuth. She was gone though and Lapis couldn't hear any footsteps either.

"C'mon." she whispered. Lapis looked through some of what Bismuth had already pulled out. Most of it looked just as useless as the mountains of paper they had been drowning in. Lapis scanned the contents on top of the desk. It looked just as useless as the as the room they'd spent six hours in; yellowed tap, a few unbent paper clips, a notepad that was browning around the edges. Lapis ignored it and found the drawer Bismuth was looking at, she tried but wasn't able to open it either. Peridot came around and Lapis moved aside so she could examine it. 

She crawled under the desk knocked on the wood beneath the drawer. "Hm..."

"What?"

"It's padlocked."

"Jeez. Why would padlock a drawer on a random desk in a room no one ever goes in anyway?"

"Questions and queries indeed. I'm sure we'll find the answers in due time." 

"Not unless you have a blow torch or some bolt cutters."

"Actually, I have something better." She held up her computer, "Science! Depending on the manufacturer these locks have only so many combinations and people don't often reset it after it's been done. Plus most people have a habit of leaving it on at least one or two of the numbers used in the code anyway. It shouldn't take me long to devise an algorithm for a set of possible combinations." 

Lapis was genuinely impressed, "Wow Peridot...You're a real whiz kid." 

"Thank you."

Lapis turned back to the room, "What about all the papers?"

Peridot sighed, "It's becoming ever more clear we're not going to find what we're looking for in there. Or at least it's going to take forever even it is. Let's see what's in the drawer first. Maybe it'll be something that can help us."

"When are we going to have time to do all that though? I can't sneak off every day till your computer spits out a number." 

"Maybe...but perhaps we could return tonight...after hours." she balked

"You mean like...sneak in?" she balked.

"No I mean have slumber party until after everybody goes home. Of course we'd sneak! How else would we get in?" Lapis wasn't too keen on the idea of being alone at night in the office with Peridot. If they got caught maybe she could get them out of it...or maybe it would just bring them both one step closer to a box of pink slips.

Lapis sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Well, it's just job right? I mean" a desperate laugh escaped from her throat, "What do I have to lose?"

"That's the spirit!" Lapis racked her brain for the decisions in her life that had brought her to this moment. Her judgment didn't appear to be getting any better. 

"I don't suppose you have a keycard for after hours."

"Don't need one. I already have an in."

 


	6. Acluistic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mysteries on the horizon

That night Peridot was waiting for Lapis on the side of the building opposite the large fountain at the main entrance between two bushes. She checked her phone for the text she was expecting.

She and Sarah met under somewhat similar circumstances as Lapis. Peridot had some company unapproved wiring set up near her office. Sarah walked by and tripped over one of them toppling the whole thing and nearly catching the entire wing on fire. The building had to be evacuated and there was still mold in the carpets from the sprinklers. Luckily Sarah had walked away with nothing but a bruise and a sprained ankle. She hadn’t confessed the incident, claiming it was an accident out of fear of getting fired and Peridot hadn’t said anything for the same reasons. The two of them went back and forth blackmailing each other.

“What are you wearing?”  
  
Peridot looked up. Lapis had on dark jeans, a navy sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and a pair of sunglasses. “What?” Peridot gestured to her clothes, “It's the same thing you're wearing."

Lapis snorted, "Um, except I'm not dressed like a broke, wannabe, James Bond. Are those leggings? And you don't have enough neck to be wearing that sweater."  
  
"Shut _up_! Stop worrying about the clothes. We don't have time for that."  
  
"You had enough to time to think about that outfit."  
  
Peridot groaned and mumbled. She waved her arm for Lapis to follow as they walked to the front door. A flat black sensor in front of the door had solid red light on it. She pulled out her cell phone and made a hacking noise at the back of her throat.

“ _Hckkk_ , come in Skinny. Do you read me?” she hung up.

Peridot answered when it vibrated a second later. _“I told you not to call me that Peridot. And it’s not a radio. You don’t need to make those noises.”_

Peridot paused, “Copy that Skinny. Over and out. Are we a go?”

A long suffering sigh could be heard on the other line, “ _Yes Peridot. You can go in now_.”

Peridot pulled out her ID and swiped. The light flashed green and the door clicked. They were in. They wasted no time and headed straight for the basement. The security desk was empty and the computer surveillance monitors were black. Peridot waved her badge over the sensor in front of the elevator and the doors opened up. The two crept inside and stared at the empty glass windows as the doors closed.

Inside, generic elevator jazz music played softly overhead. Lapis tapped her foot and looked at her phone. Peridot scratched at the silver finish on the railing. The elevator jolted and the doors opened to the dark empty basement. Peridot gulped and Lapis wasn’t unaware of her gripping the end of her sweatshirt. She pulled out her phone and tapped the flashlight app.

“Okay. I hope you know where we’re going.”

“Uh- Of course.” Peridot crept from behind her. “It’s this way.” Lapis kept the light steady in front of them. She had to admit, it was more than a little creepy down here. The metal shelves surrounding them looked bleak and imposing in the dark. Then again, she thought, it wasn’t exactly quaint and cozy during the day either. “Here it is!” Lapis raced behind Peridot to the desk.

“Great. So what now?”

“Well…uhm.” Peridot rubbed her chin.

“I thought you were going to use your math magic to open it.”

“I was…am. But the program is too big and requires way to much RAM for just my tablet.”

“So…”

“So…we’re going to have to take it upstairs.”

Lapis’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding? Why didn’t tell me this before?”

“I um…” Peridot coughed and pulled at her turtleneck. “may not have planned this the entire way through.”

“Ya think? How are we supposed to even get it out of the room?”

“We’ll just carry it.”

“ _Right_. You mean I’ll carry it. You don’t look strong enough hold even one of the drawers.”

Peridot gasped, “I’ll have you know. I work out several times a month.”

Lapis snorted, “Sure Peridot. What do you bench like…ten pounds?”

It was actually about half that but Peridot wasn’t about to admit it to her. “Just- you lift one side and I’ll get the other. On the count of three. One. Two-”

Lapis thrust up with her knees and stepped backwards. The other end of the desk was barely off the ground though and the hind legs scraping across the concrete floor echoed throughout the room.

“ _Peridot_. You have to lift.”

Peridot grunted, “I _am_ lifting.” she put all of her weight into lifting the table but the edges still dragged. The noise bounced off the metal walls and rattled in Lapis’s head.

“Ow!” she couldn’t hold her phone and the table so the two of them fumbled in the dark to find their way back. “My toe! Watch it Peridot, not so fast.”

Peridot heaved, “Lift harder Peridot.” the table groaned against the ground “Go slower Peridot.” and she panted in between each step. “Make up your mind.”

Finally, just when she thought her brains had been irreversibly scrambled by the dissonant grating her knee bumped something cold and smooth. “Peridot hang on. I think this is the elevator.”

She gasped and dropped the table the last few centimeters to the ground, “Oh my stars. Finally.”

Lapis dropped her end of the table. She was sweating now and her chest and armpits were uncomfortably sticky in the hot sweatshirt she wearing. “Go ahead and swipe your card.” 

Peridot felt her way around the desk to the side of the elevator where the security panel was. When she found it she swiped the card and the doors opened. Lapis took a deep breath and picked up her end of the desk again. Peridot ran back around to her side.

“Alright. One-” the elevator doors closed before Peridot could reach her side.

“ _Uugh_!” Lapis moaned. “Fine. I’ll stick my foot in the door and hold it open.” Peridot ran back around to the elevator and swiped her card again. Lapis leaned over and stuck her foot in front of one side of the doors. The angle was just far enough to be uncomfortable and she had to strain her back and shoulders to reach the desk behind her.

“This is ridiculous. I’m just going to push.” Peridot said suddenly.

“Wait-” Peridot gave the desk a good shove and to her complete surprise Lapis actually felt it move behind her but there was a gap between the elevator and the floor. It snagged the front legs but Peridot didn’t notice and kept pushing. The balance shifted and the weight of the desk toppled forward. Lapis yelped leaped to the floor at the back of the elevator. The edge of the desk caught on the railing inches above her head.

“Lapis!” Peridot peeked around the elevator. “Lapis, if you're not dead, please say something.”

 _‘Hope I live long enough to get fired.’_ Lapis thought.

“I’m not _dead_.” she said as she squeezed through the tiny gap between the desk and the elevator wall. “Not yet anyway.”

“Oh Lapis thank goodness! I never would have gotten this thing upstairs without you.”

“Glad to know you care Peridot.”

“Come on.” she swiped again to close the doors and pushed the key card for their floor. The rode the elevator up and the doors opened.

“Now let’s turn this thing over.” Peridot said.

“Wait.” Lapis grabbed her shoulder. “Who’s that?” she pointed to a figure silhouetted in the shadows directly down the hall in front of them.“Oh shit. They’re coming straight this way.”

“What!”

“Peridot close the doors.” she was crawling around the elevator floor, “Peridot what are you doing?” Lapis asked.

“I dropped the card!”

“What!”

“I’m sorry!” The figure’s form grew larger as they approached the elevator.

“ _Hurry_!”

“I found it!” it was too late and the clear image of a person appeared before them.


	7. Bag of Snakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our duo runs into a bit of trouble after hours

Lapis knew it, this was it. The moment of truth. She had savings, she would be fine. She just had to look on the bright side. She would be very careful to scope out the workplace environment for her next job.

The figure walked into their field of vision and into the light from the elevator door.

“Yo, sup guys.”

“ _Amethyst_?!” Peridot shouted from the floor.

Lapis slumped over against the wall, “What are you doing here? It’s like twelve o’clock.”

“Forgot my phone charger.” Amethyst tilted her head to look at the sideways upside down desk. “Hey…what are _you_ two doing here?” she narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chin.

“We’re…uh-”

“Doing some after hours…furniture rearrangement.” Peridot finished.

“Yeah!” Lapis shouted, “I’m getting a new desk.” They both flashed her their most sincere smiles.

“Huh…” Amethyst frowned. “Why do you want this junky thing?” she kicked it for emphasis. Lapis caught just before it tipped. “Your desk is already awesome.”

“Uh-…I’m…getting a second one…For extra storage!” Peridot nodded vigorously.

“What! Really? I want one! Can I have a sofa chair instead? No wait! A mini fridge.”

“Uh…mmm”

“You can have whatever you want.” Lapis said. “This is all from old storage so it’s free.”

“But you can’t tell anybody about it because…because then everyone will want one!”

“Yeah! And you know…there’s not enough…mini fridges…to go around you know?”

“ _Oh_!” Amethyst winked and pointed at them, “Gotcha.” She squeezed into the elevator behind them. “Just let me know when you guys go back to get more. I’m going to make you a list.”

Lapis and Peridot shared a nervous glance. “Yeah, no problem.” They both grabbed their perspective ends of the table and hurriedly dragged it out before the doors closed and Amethyst could do any further prying. Lapis was grateful or rather, hopeful, that no one else was in the building. Peridot was tired and her side scraped across the soft carpet squeaking all the way to the door of her office. She couldn’t really blame Peridot though, she was just as tired. The table landed with a ‘thunk’ on the ground between the doorway where they dropped it. Lapis exhaled and leaned over backwards against the table trying to catch her breath. When she pushed herself off she released her weight and Peridot grunted as she fell face forward behind her. The table lurched forward, completely in the room now. Peridot stuck out her tongue and spit carpet fibers from her mouth. Lapis shut the door while Peridot picked out the rest of dirt and dust from her mouth.

“Okay,” Lapis said, breathy. “Hard part’s over.”

Peridot coughed, “For you maybe.” Lapis rolled her eyes. The gold from the lock glinted off the moonlight window. It still amazed her the amount of trouble one tiny object - and one tiny person - could get her into. It all seemed so _easy_ at first _,_ and now look at her sneaking in after hours, risking a job she wasn’t even sure she even cared about anymore, hanging out with Peridot of all people. Life had certainly gotten strange these past few days…

Peridot coughed behind her and she turned around to find her looking nervous. “What I meant to say was…” she cleared her throat again. “Thank you…that is.”

Lapis rolled her eyes again but she felt the grin tugging at her lips anyway. “Right. Well…you can buy me a drink tomorrow morning.”

Peridot nodded. Plugged into a net work of wires and screens was a sleek looking laptop. The surface was free from any branding and the keyboard glowed in a rainbow of back-lit colors. Peridot grabbed it and set it down on the floor underneath the desk drawer. On the side of the lock was serial code engraved on it. Peridot tilted her head to peer around the underside. She input the same numbers into the program. The screen flashed white in a series of indecipherable code that scrolled up the screen faster than Lapis’ eyes could follow.

“It shouldn’t take to long.”

“Great. More waiting I suppose?”

“Exactly. The computer will give a set of likely codes, the more we get wrong the closer it comes to finding the right one.”

“Finally we get to just sit back adn relax for once.”

Peridot nodded, “We’ll have the first one in just a few-” the lights flickered. The two froze, the fluorescent lights above them crackled once, twice, then dimmed to pitch black. Lapis wondered briefly what gods she’d offended in a past lifetime. The solid wood of the desk pressed against her thighs, it quickly became a lifeline as she fumbled around in the darkness. A high pitched whimper sounded from beneath her and Lapis brushed her foot along the floor.

“Ow!”

“Sorry.”

“Why are you whispering?” The sudden change in atmosphere had Lapis on edge, her insides churned from a spike in anxiety. She wasn’t about the tell Peridot that though.

“Nevermind. What happened? Please don’t tell me your computer blew up the whole building.”

“Uhm…” she heard Peridot shuffling on the carpet, her hand brushed Lapis’ fingers against the hard wood of the desk. She pictured Peridot pulling herself off the floor even though she couldn’t see it. “It…must be maintenance.”

A flash of lightening illuminated the room long enough for to Lapis catch a glimpse of Peridot’s face, pale and glowing against the window. A crackle of thunder shook the room. Lapis’ teeth rattled and she was embarrassed to find her hands tense from squeezing the tables.

“L-lapis?” Peridot’s hands were cold and clammy on her arm.

“It…must have blown a fuse or something.”

Lightening struck again and the thunder rolled heavy booming over their heads. Peridot was wringing knots in her jacket. “Do you think…should we try to turn it back on?”

“Are you crazy? How would we even find it? We can’t see anything.”

Peridot gulped, she still hadn’t released her. “You’re right. And I don’t want my computer getting fried in this…let’s just…come back tomorrow.”

Lapis shoulders hurt from squeezing the table, she wouldn’t admit to being scared of course but…there was no reason to sit around and try to work in the dark. “Yeah. That’s a good idea. No one will think anything of a random new piece of furniture in your room.”

She waited for Peridot’s snappy response, “You- you’re being sarcastic right?”

“Yes Peridot. We should definitely lock your door.”

“Right. Lock the door.” The felt their way along the walls, Peritod clung to her while Lapis dragged her too close to her heels from behind. Peridot released her long enough the fish out the office keys from her pocket. Peridot’s hands felt strangely unsteady and the slick metal of the keys all felt alike in the inky blackness of the hallway. The entire floor must have been out of power. Maybe even the entire building. She scratched the outside of the doorknob until finally finding the lock and twisting shut with a resounding click. The two felt along the walls, using the emergency exit signs above them as a beacon. Peridot could see the tiny red dot encircled by the gold plated elevator button ahead of them. She bolted leaving Lapis behind her. The cold door of the elevator stung a bit when she hit her shoulder against them a little too hard. She ignored it though and mashed to ‘down’ button until her finger was sore. There was no reassuring ‘ding’ though and the elevator light remained unchanged.

“Peridot…?”

Her whine was too high for her voice, “Aaii…” she took a sharp breath. “I think the elevator’s broken.”


	8. FUD Factor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our duo gets lost in the darkness.

Lapis heard Peridot’s whine and the frantic tapping of the elevator button through her futile attempts to get the doors open.

  
“No…no, no no! I can’t be stuck in here with you.” Peridot moaned and dragged her hands down her cheeks.

  
“With me?” The thunder cackled again and Lapis’ heart jumped. She heard, or rather, felt Peridot trembling behind her. Lapis waved her arms out to the side, grasping for the wall. The glowing red of the exit sign was the only light left in the hallway. She took a step forward into the darkness and her hands brushed the side of the wall. The grip on jacket loosened and she felt along the hallway towards the sign. There was a _‘thunk’_ and an ‘ _oof_ ’ from behind her as Peridot fell. Lapis imagined her tripping on her own feet.

  
She squirmed to get up. “Let’s just take the stairs. That’s the fire exit right?” Peridot whispered.

  
“We just dragged a two hundred pound wooden block half way through the building and now you want to walk down twenty flights of stairs?”

  
“Twenty two actually.”

  
Peridot heard Lapis growl, “And why are you still whispering?” The thunder was so loud this time Lapis thought she felt the building shake.

  
“Would you just come one! And unless you have a better idea?”

  
They used the wall to guide them across the hall until they were directly under the exit sign. Peridot fished her key-card from her pocket. They pushed open the door to the stairwell and were met with a vast, thick, darkness.

  
“Uh…Peridot. Maybe this isn’t-” the door slammed shut behind them.

  
“Lapis? Where are you?”

  
“I’m right here.” Peridot fumbled until she felt something hard and cold. “Hey I found a pole!”

  
“Great! That’s probably the hand rail to the stairs. Put your foot down.” Peridot dipped one toe into the inky, blackness and was met with solid resistance. “Wait, where are you?”

  
“I’m against a wall.”

  
“Which wall.”

  
“The one…closest to the door?”

  
“We’re in cube. They’re all close to the door!” The thunder was muffled through the thick concrete. Lapis wouldn’t admit to being scared. There was absolutely nothing to be afraid of after all. They were the only ones here and it was long after business hours. Plus only Peridot had a working key card so of course the rolling in her stomach or the tightening in her chest or her pulse pounding out of her throat had nothing at all to do with fear. It was probably just those food truck tamales from earlier.

  
“Okay Peridot, I’m going to see if I can feel my way to the steps. You’re going down right?…Peridot?”

  
Peridot was mumbling to herself two flights down, “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…” She clung to the hand rail with both hands. It curved sharply and angled downwards. Peridot leaned over enough to see over the shaft. There same red glow of an exit sign coming from the bottom. “Lapis! I think I found another exit…Lapis?” Peridot swallowed.

  
“Peridot!” Lapis called. A muffled shout echoed through the stairwell.

  
Shit. Lapis grit her teeth, her grip on the metal banister tightened. It’s fine. It would be fine. There was only one way up and one way down after all. Nobody could get in without them knowing. There were no serial killers lurking in the corners, no ghosts seeking revenge for wrongful termination. Lapis recited the name of every episode of Grey’s Anatomy, then all the movies Robert Downey Junior had been in, including the drug induced crap shows of the nineties. Then she reviewed her budget for the rest of the month, although numbers were harder to do in her head. She was halfway down the second flight of stairs and had just finished totaling her grocery bill, if she didn’t eat out that is, when a wisp of cold air brushed over the back of her neck. Her hand flew to the spot and her neck snapped around but there was nothing on her and only darkness in front of her. She tried to swallow but couldn’t get the lump out of her throat. She felt a bead of sweat form at the edge of her temple and the center of her chest constrict. She took one step backwards down the stairs, panting, waiting for whatever was out there in the darkness. Going backwards, with no light to help her balance and the fear playing with her feet, she tripped, toppling down to the floor below.

  
Peridot was glued to the spot in front of her. She’d begun walking back up the stairs when she realized Lapis wasn’t following her. One hand remained stuck to the railing on her ascent. She called out a few times at first but then she heard a roaring bang. It was close to her and was too loud to have come from outside the building. The edges of her teeth scraped the insides of her mouth. Peridot worried her chattering teeth would alert the predator so she sucked her lips in. A low wail followed by a monstrous groan drifted through the air around her. Without her vision she couldn’t orient herself, there was no sure way to know if the sound was coming from above or below her. Peridot inhaled as deeply and as silently as she could. She didn’t want whoever was in here with her to feel or hear her breath. She turned her back to the railing and slid up the stairs sideways. This floor felt longer than the others and she became light headed. Her chest burned and her eyes watered. Peridot had been counting the steps as she climbed. There couldn’t be more than ten but she thought she’d counted twenty already, or was it fifteen? She couldn’t tell as her head spun and she blinked a several times. It didn’t help obviously, since there was nothing to clear her vision against. With several critical neurons dying from ataxia Peridot found her concentration waning and slipped on the step in above her and fell backwards.


End file.
